Diseases Associated with Poverty
- Impoverished peoples often live in poor housing conditions, have to live with contaminated water and have limited access to healthcare
- These conditions contribute to the spread of disease that wealthier populations don’t have to face
Examples
- Malaria: Disease carried by mosquitoes; especially prevalent in tropical areas like Africa
- Tuberculosis: Spread through coughing and sneezing
- Spread more in impoverished areas as in these areas people often live in crammed conditions
- Cholera: transmitted through contaminated water
- Impoverished usually don’t have access to clean water
Emergence of Global Epidemics
- These diseases were able to spread due to the very interconnected world we live in
Spanish Flu of 1918
- This epidemic started around the end of WWI
- After soldiers returned home from all around the world they brought this disease with them
- 1/5 of the entire world’s population was infected
HIV/AIDS
- HIV is the virus that causes the condition AIDS
- AIDS suppresses a person’s immune system
- Major outbreak in 1980s
- Spread through bodily fluids
Ebola
- Major outbreaks took place in Africa in 1970s and 2010s
Diseases Associated with Longer Lives
These diseases have become more prevalent as more people worldwide are living longer lives
Alzhimer’s Disease
Form of dementia that affects the aging population
Heart Disease
- Associated with lifestyle and genetics
- Eating lots of McDonald’s burgers for example can cause this
- Is currently the #1 cause of death globally